US Military Sources: Our Surveillance Planes Fly over Syria
Local Editor
The US has begun surveillance flights over Syria after President Barack Obama gave the OK, a move that could pave the way for airstrikes against the so-called "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" [ISIL] militant targets there, US officials said.
While the White House says Obama has not approved military action inside Syria, additional intelligence on the militants would likely be necessary before he could take that step.
Pentagon officials have been drafting potential options for the president, including airstrikes.
One official said the administration has a need for reliable intelligence from Syria and called the surveillance flights an important avenue for obtaining data.
Two US officials said Monday that Obama had approved the flights, while another US official said early Tuesday that they had begun. The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter by name, and spoke only on condition of anonymity.
The US began launching strikes against ISIL inside Iraq earlier this month, with Obama citing the threat to American personnel in the country.
Top Pentagon officials have said the only way the threat from the militants can be fully eliminated is to go after the group inside neighboring Syria as well.
This comes as the ISIL announced last week that it had murdered American journalist James Foley, who was held hostage in Syria. The group is also threatening to kill other US citizens being held by the extremists in Syria.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday that Obama has demonstrated his willingness to order military action when necessary to protect American citizens.
"That is true without regard to international boundaries," he said.
The White House would not comment on Obama's decision to authorize surveillance flights over Syria.
"We're not going to comment on intelligence or operational issues, but as we've been saying, we'll use all the tools at our disposal," said Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council.
The US had already stepped up its air surveillance of ISIL inside Iraq earlier this year as Obama began considering the prospect of airstrikes there. And the administration has run some surveillance missions over Syria, including ahead of an attempted mission to rescue Foley and other US hostages earlier this summer.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website
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